Our story started on the first day of the twelfth month of 4999 HC during Peacetime. This day became infamously called the Seahorse Mall Incident, which began our adventures as the Brave Knights. Peacetime was in thirty-five days, an international holiday during which kids took off from school, and many adults enjoyed a more relaxed work schedule.
My five friends were at soccer training in the Mar-Zar Sea Beach Park under the summer sun. They agreed to go to Seahorse Mall on the top of Zephara's Mesa to rejuvenate for later training. Philip Safinshah, Pez Teachingsea, Femi Healingsea, Derek Joojshah, and Eric Icemiles walked on the three-hundred-foot wooden bridge connected to the five-hundred-foot-high mountain to the mainland. They were heading to Lily's, our favorite food chain, to eat lunch and rest. Lily's has delicious dishes, an arcade room, and private rooms for parties. The Seahorse Mall building was designed as a seahorse, but all the stores' entrance doors were on the outside. The Seahorse Mall had nine stores and a museum. The mall was decorated with doves' ornaments for Peacetime.
Femi Teachingsea was younger than the four boys but took charge of ordering for everyone when the waitress approached their table. Femi did not mean to be bossy, but she wanted to guess her friends' food preferences and said, "I will order for everyone. Philip will have a salmon burger with french fries."
"Perfect." Philip Safinshah admired Femi's choice.
Philip was the tallest of the boys at six feet. He was the easiest to order for, but the hardest to order for was Derek Joojshah, a guy with brown eyes and short, straight, light brown hair.
"Derek, is your father in town?" Femi asked.
Derek's father traveled for work, and everyone knew his mother would not cook when his father traveled because Derek was a picky eater. His mother hated cooking for one person. "My parents are traveling. I want the biggest meat sandwich on the menu," Derek requested.
Eric Icemiles spoke up. "We need to order more food for me and Derek. We're sleeping at Atheen and Richard's place for a whole week."
"They live like two vegan sages," Pez mocked. Pez always liked to make fun of my and Richard's lifestyle. True, I am Atheen, whom my friends enjoy making fun of. Richard and I eat only in the Kunkarian dietary style; we eat food from a specific tree called kunken.
"I feel sorry for you." Philip pitied us. "You can sleep over at my house for that time."
Philip also likes to make fun of my friend Richard and me. He never understood our simple lifestyle either.
"Okay." Femi's gray eyes skimmed the menu. "Two cheeseburgers, two cookies, and two cups of coffee. Pez and I will share—"
"No way!" Pez Teachingsea rebelled because Femi always shared with her cousin. "I want to order by myself, and I will not share. Men do not share their food. I am a grown man, and I can choose for myself."
Femi sighed and said, "Okay, suit yourself. I will get mixed vegetables with salmon, please."
All the while, Pez had been intently studying the menu. Seeing the waitress tap her foot and pursed her lips, he knew she was becoming impatient with him, so he ordered the manager's special. The female server ran to the other customers' tables because the restaurant was busy, and she grimaced at how long Pez had detained her.
"You'd rather have the restaurant manager order for you instead of your cousin." Femi frowned at Pez, a male version of herself with wavy brown hair and tan skin, except for the eyes. He had russet eyes.
Gray-eyed Philip observed the tension between the two cousins and distracted them before they could argue. "In thirty-five days, we will be in our last year of high school, and next year, we will be in college," he said, thrilled.
"For the first time, I will not be in the same school as you," Femi sadly remarked.
"Only for a year," green-eyed Eric assured her.
Femi began to reminisce. "I remember when Philip and Pez took me by my hand to my first class in Markus Academy."
"You will still see us every day," Derek said to comfort her. "We'll be going to Blue City University, which is only two blocks away from Markus Academy."
"At least your legacy is not on the line," Eric whined while scratching his black hair. "That White City devil will take my legacy from me."
The other four friends groaned and booed, tired of him complaining about his legacy. He had mentioned this day alone over ten times. Eric was the best soccer player in Blue City for the last three years of high school. He had one year left to get the best player award; however, the best soccer player in White City was moving to Blue City. Now, two major players would fight for the same trophy. "You are seventeen years old, Eric. You are too young to have a legacy," Femi cajoled him. "If he threatens you, you should practice
harder to beat him rather than moaning about it."
"You should stand, gather your team, and fight his team," Philip said.
"This is why we practiced this morning: to improve myself," Eric answered her.
When their orders were served, everyone enjoyed their food, except Pez. His curled lip and wrinkled nose revealed his disappointment with the manager's special. He begged the others to share with him. In unison, Philip, Eric, and Derek exclaimed, "Men do not share their food."
Derek sniffed at Pez's fish dish and held his nose. "It even smells weird."
"What is it?" Pez gazed at the plate.
"It's fried fish." Femi rolled her eyes. "You should dip it in this sauce."
Pez dipped the fish in the sauce, tried it, and spat it out. "Oh, my land! It tastes like a monkey's butt," he criticized.
"So, you've eaten a monkey's butt before." Philip smirked. "Grow up. It's a figure of speech."
At this moment, it was 11:30 a.m. There were customers inside and outside the mesa's shopping center. Panicked shoppers shattered the peaceful, cheerful atmosphere when they stormed into the establishment, screaming, "Code 11, Code 11!"
They heard a bang. Everyone in the restaurant changed from carefree to fearful. The older generations, familiar with Code 11, took charge of the place. Waiters quickly locked all the entrances. Parents gathered their kids next to them. Other restaurant employees pressed buttons to deploy the metal hurricane protectors on the windows and doors. Those steps helped keep them safe. Another explosion sent everyone ducking for cover as their hearts began to race.